Kim Jong-un’s sister says North Korea can destroy South if provoked

For the second time in three days, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un berated South Korea for touting its supposed pre-emptive strike capabilities against the North, saying her country’s nuclear forces would annihilate the South’s conventional forces if provoked.

In a statement carried Tuesday by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yo-jong called South Korea Defence Minister Suh Wook’s recent comments about pre-emptive strikes a “fantastic daydream” and the “hysteria of a lunatic”.

She stressed that North Korea does not want another war on the Korean peninsula but warned it would retaliate with its nuclear forces if the South opts for pre-emptive strikes or other attacks, which would leave the South’s military “little short of total destruction and ruin”.

North Korea has repeatedly stated it would preemptively use its nuclear weapons when threatened by South Korea or the United States as it accelerated its development of nuclear bombs and missiles, which Kim Jong-un sees as his strongest guarantee of survival.

In another statement directed toward Suh on Sunday, Kim Yo-jong called him a “scum-like guy” and warning that the South may face a “serious threat” because of his comments.

Her statements come amid tensions over North Korea’s accelerating weapons tests this year, including its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017 on March 24, as her brother revives nuclear brinkmanship aimed at pressuring Washington to accept the North as a nuclear power and remove crippling sanctions.

Some experts say the North may up the ante in the coming months, possibly test-flying missiles over Japan or resuming nuclear explosive tests, as it tries to get a response from the Biden administration, which is distracted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and an intensifying rivalry with China.